2d Mobile Fighting Games
Leroy Turcios
Updated on May 6, 2024, by Rie Takumi:Mobile fighting games are a great way to pass the time on commutes. Hitting the right combos or triggering abilities at the right moment in short matches hits the sweet spot between engaging and droppable on transfers. A healthy mix of franchise hits and indie games with different mechanics means gamers won't run out of titles to try on the way to work or school. The best mobile fighting games also often have PvP and tournament modes to incentivize players to sharpen their skills. But standalone games can still be played years after their release from the strength of their gameplay.
Fans are split on this in the reviews. Yet those who appreciate the difficulty are quick to point out that it has a great training mode to offset the touchscreen controls. The samurai fighting game is a solid choice for fans looking for something to chew on while commuting.
Mortal Kombat: Onslaught offers a team-based experience instead of a straightforward one-on-one fighter. Players assemble teams of Kombatants who unleash skills via tactical RPG-like mechanics. Kombatants have Body, Mind, or Spirit Affinities that work in a rock-paper-scissor system that would give them a leg up on the enemy.
Minions work as cannon fodder for four- to five-star characters that have natural stat advantages. Kombatants are also split among classes and can equip gear and relics to improve their chances against enemy waves.
Tough Love Arena is a 2D indie fighting game with a unique art style and a passionate community. The game has simple art and few characters, but development is ongoing and content is growing rapidly.
There is just one issue: playing The King of Fighters '98 with touch controls is a nightmare. That also goes for every other SNK fighting game in the store. While a controller does fix the issue, this still highlights the work that goes behind making modern adaptations like Skullgirls or Street Fighter IV CE work perfectly on mobile.
Many games on mobile follow a freemium route, which can be pretty disappointing for players who don't have either the time or money to invest in these titles and see a decent payoff. When BlazBlue RR rolled out, many people hated this game outright for being way too intrusive with its in-app purchases, something that it deserves flack for.
However, people who managed to look past this roadblock would find a fighting game with solid mechanics that can keep players entertained for hours on end. The grind can be unreal at times, but the fighting mechanics are solid and the art style is a thing of beauty.
An oldie but goodie, Garou: Mark of the Wolves is still played enough to have events and even rollback netcode. It has the same nostalgic SNK look on mobile as it had in the late 90s, though its controls have been mercifully minimized to suit phones.
Aside from being a Fatal Fury title, Garou introduces the T.O.P. System, JUST DEFENSE, and BREAKING mechanics. These mechanics aim to refresh gameplay and introduce more complexity to the Fatal Fury formula. The mobile port also has SP and FM special buttons, which give access to Special and Desperation Moves.
Street Fighter 4 Championship Edition is one of the best mobile fighting game adaptations. Just like Skullgirls mobile, Street Fighter 4 CE streamlines the classic fighter just enough to make touchscreen play possible and even competitive. At its core, that is what makes this 2018 port of the 2008 game the best mobile fighting game to date.
Players should know that the Android and iOS versions of Street Fighter 4 CE are slightly different, with iOS coming out on top as Android lacks the single-player mode. Still, 1v1 battles are what matters most, and they are the same across platforms.
Still updated years after its launch, EA Sports UFC Mobile 2 brings MMA to smaller screens. The game plays more like an arcade MMA fighter than a technical fighter, which is great news for a quick MMA fix. Striking is as easy as tapping and swiping. On the other hand, the same movements put players on defense.
Using a Showstopper unleashes an unblockable move on the other fighter. While waiting for the Showstopper meter to fill up, players can use the same kind of strike to create combos. Players can even weave Showstoppers at the end of their combo for ultimate damage.
Vita Fighters has intuitive controls that emulate a traditional gamepad. Still, players interested in this fighting game would do well to invest in a Bluetooth controller compatible with their phones. Like most games in the genre, Vita Fighters supports Bluetooth controls natively.
Although it looks simplistic, the fact that it revolves around footsies means advanced players find joy in it. After all, mastering footsies is essential for getting better at fighting games. Footsies also has rollback netcode, which makes it work better online than some triple-A fighting games.
Make no mistake, Injustice: Gods Among Us is not the same game sold on PC and consoles. The truth is, this is not even a real fighting game. Still, chances are that fans of fighting games will like this casual free-to-play button masher. As far as mindless fighting goes, this mobile version of Injustice is great fun.
Shadow Fight 4: Arena implements a tag system, its main innovation over the rest of the series. Like many free-to-play games, offline matches are locked behind a fee, while online play is free and gives some money in case of victory. While this attempt at monetizing the arcade is nothing extreme for mobile, it is a rarity among fighting games.
The mobile adaptation of the indie fighting game phenomenon Skullgirls is one of the most expansive free-to-play options in the genre. With many unlockable fighters, each customizable in its own way, Skullgirls: Fighting RPG promises unending content for as long as updates keep coming.
Commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Gundam brand, G Gundam was produced to reboot the waning popularity of the long-running franchise. It is the first Gundam series with a self-contained plot set in an alternate calendar era from the original "Universal Century" timeline. Additionally, the show casts aside many of the conventions set by its predecessors and takes many new steps for its franchise, such as a focus on martial arts and decisive, personal duels as opposed to large-scale military conflicts. G Gundam was directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa, with its settings and characters significantly influenced by the director's interest in world cinema. The anime's real-world locales were drawn from numerous foreign films and were planned using location scouting. G Gundam ran for 49 episodes on Japan's TV Asahi from April 22, 1994, to March 31, 1995. An English-language version produced by Bandai Entertainment aired in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami block beginning on August 5, 2002. Since its original broadcast, G Gundam has spawned manga, audio albums, video games, guide books, and several lines of scale models.
During its conception and Japanese television debut, G Gundam was met with controversy among its production staff, sponsors, and fans because the show takes a wildly different turn from all previous entries in the Gundam universe. However, for that very reason, the series is cited as a milestone in its long-running franchise and ultimately proved very popular in the region. Reception for G Gundam has been generally positive in North America. Reviewers praised the primary characters and mecha as unique and stylized, but strongly disagreed on the plot. While some critics enjoyed the bold and campy divergence from the more dramatic social and political undertones traditional of Gundam, others found G Gundam's story diffusely shallow, repetitive, or not up to standards set by its anime predecessors.
Unlike previous series in the Gundam franchise which are set in the "Universal Century" timeline, Mobile Fighter G Gundam takes place in an alternate "Future Century" universe.[1][2] Within this timeline, much of mankind has abandoned a ruined Earth to live in space colonies. The countries on Earth have corresponding colonies just outside the planet's atmosphere. Rather than fight wars for political and social dominance, the colonies agree to hold a "Gundam Fight" tournament every four years. Each country sends to Earth a representative piloting a highly advanced, humanoid mobile fighter called a Gundam. The Gundams compete with one another in one-on-one battles, under a strict set of rules, until only one fighter remains; the nation represented by the winner earns the right to rule all of space for that period.[2] Each Gundam is controlled directly by the user within the cockpit using the "Mobile Trace System", a gesture recognition and feedback mechanism whereby the Gundam mimics the pilot's own body motion, combat skills, and weapon-wielding capabilities.[1] G Gundam opens at the start of the 13th Gundam Fight in Future Century year 60 and follows Neo Japan's Domon Kasshu, fighter of his nation's Shining Gundam and bearer of the coveted "King of Hearts" martial arts crest.[1] Aside from winning the tournament, Domon's mission is to track down his fugitive, older brother Kyoji, who allegedly stole the experimental Devil Gundam from Neo Japan's government, leaving their mother dead and their father (Dr. Raizo Kasshu) to be arrested and placed in a cryogenic state.[3]
Under orders from Major Ullube Ishikawa, Domon and his childhood friend and mechanic Rain Mikamura travel from country to country, challenging each one's Gundam while searching for clues to the whereabouts of Kyoji and the Devil Gundam.[3] Domon's initial matches with Neo America's Chibodee Crocket, Neo France's George DeSand, Neo China's Sai Sai Ci, and Neo Russia's Argo Gulskii end in draws, gaining mutual respect among the fighters.[1][2] As they encounter Gundam pilots who had come in contact with the Devil Gundam, Domon and Rain learn of its unique cellular properties to regenerate, multiply, and evolve by infecting organic matter and causing violent behavior in living things.[3] The duo then journey to Neo Tokyo, a city decimated by the Devil Gundam's army of mobile weapons. Domon reunites with his esteemed martial arts instructor Master Asia, who is also the champion of the last Gundam Fight, the former King of Hearts, and one-time leader of an elite group of Gundam fighters called the Shuffle Alliance. After Domon and Rain help the city's survivors defend their last outpost in Shinjuku, Master Asia reveals himself as a servant of the Devil Gundam, having also gained control over Chibodee, George, Sai Sai Ci, and Argo using Devil Gundam (DG) cells.[2][3] The four remaining members of the Shuffle Alliance intervene and vow to destroy their previous leader for his crimes. Ultimately, the Alliance members offer their lives in purging the DG cells from Domon's four comrades and bestow each of them with a Shuffle Alliance crest as their successors. Kyoji and the enormous Devil Gundam eventually appear from beneath the ground of Shinjuku but shortly thereafter vanish alongside Master Asia. As the Shuffle Alliance trains in the Guiana Highlands for the Gundam Fight finals, Master Asia and the Devil Gundam reappear.[3] With the help of his friends and a new ally in Neo Germany's masked warrior Schwarz Bruder, Domon defeats the Devil Gundam. When the Shining Gundam becomes incapacitated during the battle, Domon desperately manages to activate a newly acquired God Gundam, escape Master Asia, and make his way to the finals set in Neo Hong Kong.[2][4]
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